"More aggressive" defense, resilient offense lead to Negros' comeback win at Laguna

Bienve Marañon and the rest of Ceres Negros' attackers kept the faith, and they were rewarded. PFL

By Ivan Saldajeno

BIÑAN--Stallion Laguna surprised Ceres Negros in the first half of their PFL battle at the Biñan Football Stadium when the home side was on attack mode, leading to Jhan-Jhan Melliza nailing a brace for a 2-0 halftime lead.

However, the road team went on a tear early in the second half, scoring three goals in a span of eight minutes to eventually steal the win.

[Related Story: Negros rallies in 2nd half to trounce Laguna]

"We just told our defenders, especially the back four and the central defenders, to be more aggressive," said Interim Coach Ian Treyes, who is currently taking over the squad with Head Coach Risto Vidakovic currently serving a long PFL suspension.

The defensive adjustment worked as Melliza was limited to only a few touches in the second half.

On the other hand, Bienve Marañon said that he told his fellow scorers during halftime to continue to sneak into Laguna's backline.

"We were talking[, and I said,] 'We have to keep going, play like in the first half, and try to defeat their defenders," said Marañon. "We are lucky to score the goals, and we got the win."

Marañon scored the equalizer in the 58th minute and the eventual game-winning penalty in the 63rd minute to complete the comeback, earning him Man of the Match honors.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno